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SPORTS AND PASTIMES.I

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SPORTS AND PASTIMES. I A.A.A. CHAMPIONSHIPSâLACROSSEâAI:MV AMB NAVY BOXING CHAMPIONSHIPS PIBUO SCHOOLS RACQUETSâ RI:GBY FOOT CAM,â LEAGUE MATCHES. ââââââ?ââââââ? The Amateur Athletic Association's seven miles walking, ten miles running, and limited tug of-war cliampionships took place oil Saturday afternoon at Stamford Bridge in glorious weather. A crowd of fully 3,O{)O spec- tators witnessed some excellent contests. Among the entrants to the walk were H. V. L. Ross (Uxbridge and West Middlesex A.C.) and R. Bridge (Lancashire W.C.), who pro- vided a sensational finish by dead-heating last vear in 52min. 8 1-5sec. Bridge, much the younger man, had come on a deal, and was fully expected to win. an expectation which lie realised, though in slower time than in 1913. Among the runners were many men of mark, though the names of A. H. Nicholls (Surrey A.C.) and C. H. Ruffdl (Highgate II.), the heroes of the cross-country season, -were missing. Further disappointment was caused by the scratching of E. Glover (Hallamshire H.), the holder of the title. His absence left the issue very open, and after C. F. Price {the Welsh champion) had done most of the leading, F. Fennah (Crewe H.) came away to win well from J. Daly (Con- uaught Rangers). After a close struggle the tug-of-war was won by the 116tli Battery U.F.A., who beat the Royal Marine Light Infantry (Portsmouth) by two pulls to one. In their annual lacrosse match with the South, played at Manchester on Saturday-, the representatives of the North gained an overwhelming victory, beating their op- ponents--by 20 goals to 5. From the opening the home side played brilliant lacrosse, and ^completely nonplussed their opponents, whose handling was by no means as clever. The annual championships of the Royal Navy and Army Boxing Association were con- cluded in the Connaught Drill Hall, Ports- mouth, on Saturday, when the winners in the officers' competitions were: Feather-weight, Lieutenant A. R. Banks, Royal Naval Col- lege of Physical Training; light-weight. Lieu- tenant A. B. Butterworth, Army Service Corps; middle-weight, Sub-Lieutenant L. H. Bayley, his Majesty's ship Dominion; welter- -weight, Lieutenant G. Le C. Martel, Royal Engineers (the holder); light heavy-weight, Ueutenant W. M. Collier, his Majesty's ship Dolphin; heavy-weight, Lieutenant W. F. ilakeig-Jones, ;R,N. Barracks, Portsmouth. The winners in the men's events resulted as follows: Feather-weights, Private Stout, 2nd Leinster Regiment; heavy weights, Private Voyles, Irish Guards; light heavy- weights, Bombardier Carton, 30tli Brigade "Royal Field Artillery; light-weights, Able Seaman Mannion, his Majesty's ship Colling- "wood; middle-weights, Lance-Corporal J. Jones, South Wales Borderers; welter- weights, Able Seaman Gray, R.N. Barracks. A large gathering, which included Prince 'Albert, witnessed the final of the public a^chools' racquet championship at Queen's Club, in which Charterhouse gained their eighth victory by defeating the holders, Well- iugton, by four games to two, after a splendid match. The contest lasted an hour and a-half, and was exciting and full of incident. Char- terhouse had the better-balanced team. and both their representatives (I. D. B. Mortier Williams and J. H. Strachan) served well. The Wellington pair were E. A. Simpson and C. P. Hancock. Thousands saw the finish of the Rugby reason in the London district at Twickenham in glorious weather on Saturday, when the Harlequins closed their season with a victory over a powerful fifteen of the United Services by 4 goals to 2 tries (26 points) to 2 tries (6 points). There was an almost unprecedented occurrence at the start, for play had not been in progress more than a minute or so before it was discovered that the Services were play- ing sixteen men Naturally the extra man, a forward, was at once withdrawn. The game was played at a very fast pace, and the spec- tators were rewarded with a splendid display .-of three-quarter work by the home side. Lam- bert was the particular star. In the Midland Counties Cup Final at vicester on Saturday, Coventry beat Moseley tjv two goals and a try to a try. Afterwards Moseley entered a protest against Maddocks and Judge playing for Coventry. The grounds of the protest are that Maddocks's name had not been sent in on February 2nd, and that Judge had no residential qualification. The 'protest will be considered on Saturday. 'Blackburn Rovers, having made themselves certain of the Championship nine days pre- viously, the only matters of any importance at issue in the First League matches on Saturday were the questions as to which club should secure second honours, and whether Preston North End's fate would be definitely wettled. Aston Villa defeating Tottenham Hotapur, Oldham Athletic losing, and West Bromwidh Albion merely halving points with Sheffield Wednesday, the famous Binning- liam team are assured of second place. Six times have the 'Villa carried off the Cham- pionship, and six times have they been run- ners-up for that honourâthrice in the course ..of the last four seasons. A remote possibility -of Preston North End retaining membership -of the First Division existed, but for that, to have come about it was necessary not only that Preston should win their two remaining en- gagements, but that Sheffield Wednesday â¢should lose both of the encounters before that club. Preston North End duly gained a vic- Ttfry, but, with Wednesday securing a, point at West Bromwieh, that success availed nothing. Accordingly, at the end of the sea- son. Preston North End find DeHiv County return to the Second Division. The Derby team go â dowu after two seasons in the semicir division. To all intents -a.iiel purpo-sesthe question as to which cluib wil) accompany Notts County from the Second to the First Division of the League -was settled on Saturday. Briefly, Bradford won and Woolwich Arsenal drew, the position of affairs being that Bradford- are two points ahead of the Arsenal, who have two games to fulfil, against -the one wliieli Bradford require to cowplete their pro- gramme. It will 'be seen, therefore, that should both clubs win the remaining engagements they will finish the season level on points. In that event Bradford have nothing to fear from the Arsenal, owing to the fact that the goal average of the Yorkshire club is much supe- rior to that of the rival team. Meanwhile danger threatens both these organisations, and it may be that a dramatic surprise is in store, for Leeds City, with a victory away from home on Saturday, have once more come into the struggle for second place.. Their chances, too, are almost as good as those of the Arsenal; but like the North London club, they cannot go up unless Bradford lose. Everything depends upon that contingency. Tkaten by Bradford. Lincoln City concluded th,eir programme on Saturday, and like Notts Forest will have to apply for readmission, for nothing that can happen to Leicester Fosse can save the Lincoln club from being last but Ãue tfi the competition. In-and-out form remains a prominent fea- ture of the Southern League competition, M it has Tx-on all the season, and on Saturday the inability of Swindon to beat Exeter City, whilst Crystal Palace were scoring 3--0 against Norwich City, leaves the question of the championship open until the last Satur- day available for football, besides suggesting that the one satisfactory way for settling the destination of premier honours would be a match between the two leading clubs. On Easter Monday Swindon won by three goal3 and Crystal Palace played their third succes- sive draw. The reversal of these latest re- suits leaves the clubs level in points, but Swindon, thanks to their slightly superior goal average, claim first place. This advan- tage seems likely to entitle them to succeed Plymouth Argyle as holders of the trophy, for en Saturday they have a difficult task at Cardiff, and an equally troublesome one faces Crystal Palace at Gillingham.

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At the Alien Immigration board it was stated that at an address in Charlton, where an immigrant had prospective lodgings, an officer found seventeen Lithuanians slept in ihe bouse of six rooms, a school being kept Mere during the day.

WOTlK AND WORKERS. I

Detailed Lists, Results and Guides

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WOTlK AND WORKERS. I AMEXDIKO THE INSI RANCR A TRADE Uxiox KUNDKâ-CmVK:<S OX IRTISH SHTPSâKKXV FA KM LAnorKERs' PXM vvrsâ PROFIT SH\RIN<J WEAVERS' HOUDAYSâ- WORKING WOMEN AND MARRIAGE MIXE WORKKRS TO PAY FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT. ââ.ââââ âââââ The text lias. been issued of the bill which Mr. John Burns has introduced to amend Part II. of the National Insurance Ac! which deals with the unemployed. An accompany- ing memorandum says that the bill involves no considerable changes of policy, being directed mainly to the removal of certain ad- ministrative difficulties experienced by the Board of Trade, by employers, and by work- men. The net effect of the bill is to afford a considerable measure of relief both to em- ployers and to workmen's associations, to simplify an 1 thus to cheapen administration, and to diminish rather than to increase the total charge upon the Treasury, while not pre- judicing the financial position of the unem- ployed fluid. The bill provides, among other matters, for the simplification of the conditions for a re- fund to employers, under Section 94, the recasting of the provision made by Section H6 for remission of contributions in respect of workmen on short time; removing of the 12s. limit in connection with payments to associa- tions under Section 106, and its replacement by a somewhat higher limit in a different and simpler form; an increase of refund under Section 106 to associations having arrange- ments under Section 105, and paying benefit at a rate below 13s. a week; the abolition of the allowance of additional contributions under the Seventh Schedule, and an amend- ment of the definition of unemployed in re- spect of work done out of ordinary working hours. Supplementing the latest Baard 'of Trade returns of trade union membership and funds, just published, with later figures sup- plied by the national trade union leaders, it is now possible, a Labour correspondent writes, to show the <t:ffect of the epidemic of strikes during the ,last three years on trade union funds. At the end of 1910 the accumulated funds of the trade union movement repre- sented 74s. per head of the then membership. Tne gradual decline in the interval will be lIeen from the following table: 14 10 1911 3 1 0 1912 :2 510 '0 1913 2 >0 '1914 -2 3'0 The decline in value of the funds is attri- buted largely to the epidemic of disputes, either through strike-pay or (jut.of-work pay. It is true that the influx of new members in the period has been very large, but as these are mainly of the restless militant type, who are anxious to tight on every conceisable occa- flioll without waiting until reserve values have accumulated to bring the funds up to the re- quirements of the increased membership, it is held that the new arrivals are a source of weakness srather than strength to the unions. It is stated that the Board of Prade is con- sidering the draft of. and will shortly issue to shipping offices, a circular letter designed to make as stringent as possible the enforcement of the regulation relating to the employment of Chinese on British ships. It is stated that the Board intends to enforce the regulations strictly. "Iii this connection it is interesting to note that, following a protest meeting against the employment of Asiatic seamen on British steamers which was ii (I (Ir bv Mr. Havelock Wilson, there was an interesting sequel on (Friday at Hull Docks, when a large steamer arrived in the docks. It was intended to sign on the usual crew of Chinamen, but the Union officials negotiated with the cap- tain, who telegraphed to his owners, with the result that none but British seamen were signed on. This is regarded in Hull as a sig- nificant victory for British seamen and an in- dication of the action that xnill 'i)e takeii iii other ports. Through the National Amalgamated Union of Labour, farm workers in the Swanley and Crockenhill district of Kent have presented demands to their employers for higher wages and shorter hours. A minimum wage of 24s. per week is demanded for men and 2s. per day for women workers, with 6d. and 4d. per hour respectively for overtime. For boys a minimum wage Of 8s. per week is asked for, rising by 2s. -per week till they reach the age of eighteen. For male workers lwtweeii eighteen and twenty years of age the mini- mum wage required is 18s. per week. About 1300 employees at Old Trafford, Manchester, and in the firm's London show- rooms are to benefit, by the profit-sharing scheme inaugurated by the Ford Motor Com- pany in Detroit. U.S.A. The working hours are to be reduced from fifty to forty-eight per week at Old Trafford and in London, and the earnings of all male employees of twenty-two will be Is. 3d. per hour ( Â£ 3 i)-pr w,(,k).' pi-o- vided their mode of life is deemed satisfactory by the firm. Also, as employees become eligible participation ,in profits will be added to their wages. At the present time the mini- mum wage is lOrl. per hour. Labourers and floor-sweepers are to be included in the scheme. The members 01 the "Great Harwoo<l "Weavers' Association have decided to ask the employers to put the extra two days' holiday granted on the Whitsuntide stoppage, and to stop for the Whitsuntide break on Friday noon, resuming work on Thursday morning, instead of stopping on Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday. The annual holidays yow take place in the latter part of August, and it was felt ?, -s t and it NA-a,s felt that the holiday in September would 1)e too near the yearly stoppage. This suggested alteration is only for thl?'s'(? year, and a future meeting will discuss the entire rearrangement .of holidays. A vehement protest against "the most pestiferous doctrine that working women should be velibate" was made by Mrs. Swan- wick in her address at the Women's Kingdom Exhibition in London. It was bad, she said, for the workers and the work that married woHien should be forbidden to earn wages or salary. Parents were already unwilling to make sacrifices in order to fit their daughters for some professional career, and if marriage were to "be necessarily the end of that career they would be still less willing, while the girls themselves were not likely to take their work !f'rionsly :if tlh'y knew they must drop it on marrying. The association of mature married women worikers with unmarried women was of great value. If married women left their work it meUnt leaving just when their wages should be getting high. and that a number of raw recruits were always drifting in and wages remaining low. It was a monstrous thing to, say that a wife must surrender her pecuniary independence, or that, however skilful in her own line, she must drop her special work and substitute domestic or house- wifely duties. At Wakefield 111 surface workers employed at Lofthouse Colliery have been summoned foi- a breach of contract for leaving work without notice, and a. sum of 5s. damages per day in respect of two days, March 23rd and 24th, was claimed from each man. Clause 4 of the surfacemen's agreement provides that thirty minutes should be the acknowledged time for meals during the nine or ten hours' shift. There has been some demur on the part of the men, who previously had had allowed at this pit a full hour for what was known as snap time." Negotiations be- tween the men and the management took place, and the latter eventually offered to allow forty minutes for snap time with- out prejudice, and until the men had had an opportunity of further considering the matter. Ou March 23t-d, however, they stayed away from work, with the result that some 1.200 men and boys were thrown out of em- ployment. Work had not since been re- sumed, and it was stated on behalf of the company that this kind of thing had hap- pened so frequently before that they felt obliged to bring the cases to court with a view to stopping the practice. All the de- fendants were ordered to pay the amount claimed, with 6s. 6d. costs each.

CHIPS OF NEWS.

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CHIPS OF NEWS. The TVime Minister has declined to receive a deputation of Nonconformists who are (1)- posed to the Disendowment clauses of tne Welsh Church Bill. Lord Wimbornc left his whole estate, valued .provisionally at Â£2:)0,0(10, to his wife absolutely. A French public I-ichool boy was detained by the German authorities at a Metz police- station on account of his school uniform. The lad was released when he had put on the plain clothes which his father was requested to purchase. Mr. Justice Bailiiache has accepted the presidency for the coming year of the London Brotherhood Federation. Illiterates of British nationality to the number of 13,344 were, according to Dutch official statistics, in residence at Amsterdam in the year 1913. Mr. W. H. O. Steer, the Chelsea foot- baller, was one of the soloists at a football service at Kingston-on-Thames Wesleyan Church on Sunday. Mr. T. Kirby Stapley, the Master of East Sussex Foxhounds. broke his collar-bone while riding at the East Sussex Hunt races on Saturday, at Westfield. All the passengers, numbering IOC), were on Saturday taken off the Nelson liner High- land Piper, which grounded on the Banco Ingles, near Monte Video. Miss Maisie Ford, an American music-hall artist, who was charged at Bow-street with the theft from a dressing-room at the Hippo- drome of a gold bracelet belonging to Miss Freda Large, was discharged on Saturday. At a meeting of the King's Workers of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Dr. Kennedy, of India, declared that there were places in India where there were only two doctors for every half million of people. Impressive scenes marked the funeral on Saturday, at Broughton, Staffs, of Sir Delves Broughton, of Doddington Hall, Nantwuh. one of the most popular landowners ;1: Cheshire. Five hundred tenants from Cheshire and Staffordshire followed the coffin. Mr. Balfour has accepted the offer of the honorary freedom of Hereford, which borough he represented in Parliament from 1874 to 1885. Twenty-five persons, including six wnmoii. have been arrested in Riga as a sequel to the attempt to hold Labour demonstrations in the streets, when a policeman was injured by a stone thrown. Shots were also fired. Captain the Hon. Wentworth Chetwynd. R.N.. brother of Viscount Chetwynd, died on Saturday of heart failure following an operation. An underground fire. giving off dense and pungent fumes, has been raging at St. Etienne. Its origin is said to be in certain seatns of coal. Factories in the vicinity are in danger. William Johnson, of Colney, i.n the Cam- bridgeshire Fens, who was due to join the Army Reserve, was found on Saturday r-?ter- noon in a garden in Fed Cross Grove with his head partly blown off. Sidney May, a. gardener, of Burton-nnd*>r- Needwood, Burton-on-Trent. died on S;:t:ir- day as the result of a bullet wound in. the head. He was found insensible in a field w;.th a "safety" pistol at hh side. A heavy goods train from Bishop Aueklrf'ir! to Middlesbrough ran away near Darlington on Saturday. It crashed into some waggons in a siding and smashed several beyond re- pair. No olie was injured. At a meeting of the graduates of A berdeen Univer-sity. Lord Elgin was unanimously elected Chancellor of the University, in suc- cession to Lord Strathcona. The Rev. Walter John Edmonds. Chancel- lor of Exeter Cathedral, died at Exeter on Saturday, at the age of eighty. He resigned the Canonry of Exeter Cathedral twelve months ago. but was induced to retain the post of Chancellor. A Dover boy. named Austen, aged about eight vears, fell-over the Shakespeare Cliff, a distance of about 200ft., on Saturday. He was found by the coastguards, with serious scalp wounds, ati<.l was removed to hospital. During restoration of the old hall, -it Exhall, near Nuneaton, workmen discoverod some fine specimelilsofoak panelling bearing the date of 1419. The discovery was inado ,beiiind some masonry in one of the apartments. Richard Prentice, a Crimean veteran, acci- dentally fell downstairs at his home in Wel- lingborough on Saturda,.v, and -died shortly afterwards. Mr. Iwahara. aiauagjcg director of the Mitsui Bussan Kaisha, who was imprisoned in connection with the Japanese naval scan- dal, has been released on baiL Owing to the capsizing of a boat in the mouth of the Thames on Saturday a young man from the Princes Channel lightship was drowned. Mr. CliarleS Webb, of Studley Court, has been elected joint master of the Albrighton Hunt with Major Mayall, who has hitherto been sole master. After having held the office for fifty-four i years, Mr. Edward Smith, parish clerk oi Godalming, has resigned, in consequence of ill-health and advancing years. With the approval of the Bishop of London a demonstration against the Welsh Disestab- lishment Bill will be held in Victoria Park on Saturday, May 23rd next. At Millbrook, Southampton, Mr. H. God- den has been elected parish sexton, and from the records it appears that the office has been in the Godden family since 1818. Dr. Herbert Jones, medical office? of health of Hereford, has been unanimously elected president of the Society of Medical Officers of Health, to succeed Dr. A. K. Chalmers, of Glasgow. John Compston,, aged sixteen, who was in- jured by a blank cartridge wad firedi during the Ulster Volunteer ma-noeuvres at Tullyard. Cookst^own, on Easter Monday, died of lock- jaw on Sunday. Electrification of the London and North- Western Railway line between Earl's Court and Willesden Junction has been completed, and the new service will start on May 1st. King Alfonso has signed a decree assigning a credit of Â£ 20,000 for the Spanish section of the Touring Exhibition to be held at Earl's Court. London tliiis summer Â»

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Mautett by a lion during tne production of cinematograph scenes, Mr. William W. Kiitoy, an actor, has been fatally injured at Los Angeles, California. A derelitet dangerous to navigation has been sighted in mid-Atlantic by the steamer Rhaetia. The police have received information that Miss D. Wilkinso.n, the recluse in whose house at Harlesden on April 2nd were found twenty-six dead and dying Pomeranian dogs, has gone to Ireland, where she has relatives. For the protection of our food supplies the number of armed ships is being increased from forty to seventy. Ain international code of affreightment has been prepared by representatives of the great shipping Powers for consideration at the next Maritime Conference. London Rifle Brigade have created a world's record for forced marching, covering the dis- tance from London to Brighton in fourteen hours twenty-three minutes. A woman giving the name of Kathleen Andrews had been pliarged. at Westminster with forging and uttering cheques in the name of Lady Lampson on the London, City and Midland Bank. As a sequel to the fatal shooting of a girl in the Borough, a boy named Thomas Spencer has been charged with wilful murder at Tower Bridge Police-court. The output of coal in the United Kingdom in 1913 was 287,411,869 tons, the highest on record, and an increase of 27,013,291 tons over the output in 1912, says a Home Office report. Out of 923 candidates for the ordinary cer- tificate at the Oxford Senior Local Examina- tion, 536 were successful. Miss E. G. Hardy, of the Secondary Girls' School, Jarrow, 19M j first elass.

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f: 11

I AGRICULTURAL NOTES. I

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I AGRICULTURAL NOTES. I BY A PRACTICAL FARMER. I CO-OPERATIVE FACTORIES. Another co-operative bacon factory has to admit a loss on last year's working, though, as I have previously pointed out, this need not give rise to fears about the future of the movement. If it is given a fair trial, I think there can be no doubt that any well-equipped bacon factory should ultimately find a very profitable market for its members, and, in ad- dition. show a balance for division amongst them. The 'factory I am referring to is the Herts and Beds Farmers' Co-operative Bacon Factory at Hitchin, which recently held its first annual meeting. The annual report and balance-sheet, which were adopted, showed that the factory had had to face a tieries of adverse circumstances, euch as the Dublin dock strike, the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, and severe compe- tition from Denmark (whose bacon could be purchased wholesale in England at &. per cwt. less than the factory had to pay for pigs). Notwithstanding this, the trading loss had only been 11,331, though the high rate adopted for depreciation of buildings, plant, Ac., had brought the net adverse balance up to Â£2,331 16s. Id. The low price of Dani-sh bacon is a formid- able factor to compete against. But many things point to increasing demand in other countries for Danish produce, which will tend to put up its price, while, on the other hand, pigs cannot continue to make the high prices they have been mkking. it will be in- teresting to see what the financial experi- ences of the factory are this year. â¦ USE OF SOCIETIES' RESERVE FUNDS. I With reference to recent remarks of mine ON this subject, I notice that Professor Long, at the annual meeting of the British Dairy Farmers' Association, spoke along somewhat similar lines in commenting on a, paragraph in the Report which regretted that the indi- vidual membership is not greater. He said he thought the reason was that the council did not take the right kind of steps to increase it. There is, he pointed out, a large sum of money at the bank, and he suggested that it might be put to very useful purposes of benefit to the industry such as The establishment of a milking herd-book or record of yields of cows giving over 1,000 gallons or so of milk in a year. To ascertain the most economical system of feeding a herd, i.e.. chiefly on the crops on the farm. This involves the question as to which crops produce the greatest weight of feeding matter per acre. Substantial prize for the best dairy farm to embrace the stock, the dairy, the crops, the arrangement, and the results. Prize for the best yield of milk by a herd of not less or more than a given number of cows. Prize for the best-equipped retail dairy- man's premises. For the best system of controlling the temperature of the butter and cheese dairy. MAIZE AS A CATCH CROP. A very useful pamphlet on Catch Crops, issued gratis by the Chilian Nitrate Commit- tee, suggests that much more of this crop might with advantage be grown. It is a quick grower and yields a large bulk of green food which is well liked 'by cattle. It can either be fed to them indoors or carted to them in the fields, or even made into ensilage. It does best on a deep loam, but will do anywhere provided the soil is warm enough .for it. As this crop will not grow in a cold soil it should not be drilled until a-b-out the beginning of June, and can therefore be taken after vetches or rye. About three bushels are sown per acre, in rows 12in. to 18in. apart. The soil should be well manured, as it is a quick grower and shallow rooter. Rooks are very fond of the seed. A dressing of farm- yard manure should be put on the land and ploughed in, while nitrate of soda at the rate of one to one and a-half hundredweight per acre should be put on when the plant is nicely through the ground, and a second similar amount a month later. If there is no farm- yard manure to spare three to four hundred- weight of superphosphate and three to four hundredweight of kainit should be worked into the soil before drilling the seed, followed by the two top-dressings of nitrate as before. With liberal treatment a crop drilled the first week in June should give thirty or forty tons per acre of good green fodder about the end of September. â¢ â¢ â¢ SOYA BEAN "MILK." j A new synthetic milk, prepared by an in. genious German chemist, has attracted some notice in this country during the past few weeks. A friend who has had an opportunity of tasting it tells me that he does not think anyone would be deceived by its taste, though its appearance is certainly much like that of the true lacteal fluid. Years ago the idea of an artificial imitation of butter was ridiculed, but now margarine is made which dairy farmers themselves cannot distinguish from choice butter, except, of course, after making special tests. So the possibility of synthetic milk being made and sold which resembles true milk so closely as to deceive the ordi- nary customers is by no means remote. It is as well, therefore, that the dairying industry should be prepared for this new invasion. The President of the Board of Agriculture was recently asked in the House of Commons whether he was aware that it was proposed to sell as milk a liquid prepared from soya bean, having the appearance and to some ex- tent the flavour of cow's milk, but not pos- sessing its nutritive or other qualities; and whether the Board or the Local Government Board would not exercise any powers they had to prevent the sale of such a product under the misleading denomination of milk. Mr. Runciman admitted that he was aware of the product referred to, but was not pre- pared to express any opinion as to its nutri- tive qualities. If, however, an article which was not milk was sold under that name, it would be the duty of local authorities to insti- tute prosecutions under the Food and Drugs Act for selling an article which was not of the nature, substance, and quality of the article demanded. SIZE OF HOLDINGS. I Figures collected last year show that the total number of agricultural holdings over one acre in England and Wales was 435,677, being a reduction of 209 as compared with the previous year. Rather more than half the agricultural area of the country is farmed. in holdings of over 150 acres, and about one- fourth in holdings of over 300 acres. But the occupiers of holdings above 150 acres are few in comparison with the total number of per- sons who occupy agricultural land, being only 52,000. Nearly one-third of the agricul- tural area is farmed in holdings of from 50 to 150 acres, the number of occupiers of these holdings being 91,000. Among these are many who might "be described as small- holders, in the sense that they are occupiers who cultivate their holdings mainly by the labour of themselves and their families, and employ little outside labour in the regular work of the farm. This would especially apply to the 50 or 100 acre class, in which falls the smallholding of grass land charac- teristic of Cumberland, Westmorland, Devon, and some of the Welsh counties. An interestiorf eroun Â»s that Of 90 f., 6A acres, wnerem it may oe assumeo would fall the bulk of the typical smallholdings on which mixed farming is practisedâi.e., tlioso which contain a. proportion of both arable and pasture. They number 78.000, and form 18 per cent. of the total, and represent nearly 10 per cent. of the land under cultivation. Below the 20 acres level the holdings are probably more heterogeneous. Many of the smaller plots, no doubt, consist of accommo- dation land held by persons mainly employed in other avocations than farming, or of pad docks, &c., held in conjunction with resi- dences, and representing land occupied for pleasure and recreation rather than for farm- ing as a business. The number of these hold- ingsâi.e., from 1 to 20 acresâis verv large, being nearly one-half of the total, although the area which they represent is only 6 per cent. of the whole. No doubt, however, many [)f them may -be assumed to be small holdings which are mainly arable, and are devoted largely to vegetables, fruit, or some form of more or less intensive cultivation.

REVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE.

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REVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE. The great improvement in the weather which commenced the day before Good Friday and gave us a unique record of holi- day traffic has not yet been of sufficient con- tinuance to dry the surface soil or to enable clay and other heavy lands to be ploughed, sown, rolled, or otherwise cultivated. Weeds are growing very fast, as they like nothing so much as sunshine on saturated surface soil. The expectation is that nothing will now be added to the wheat area, and but little to that of barley, while even oats may cede a certain area to potatoes. Some corn land will prob- ably go into grass. The wheat gradient this week is between' Leeds and Salisbury, but no market is now below 30s. Leeds, 33s. 4d. Salisbury, 30s. 4d.; range, 3s. The barley gradient is between Burton-a market not often lacking in malting quality. and Banbury, where only the lowest grade of feeding corn appears of late to have been on offer: Burton, 27s. lOd.; Banbury, 22s. 6d.; range, 5s. 4d. Oats are fetching over a sovereign as an average price in a few Midland counties. On the other hand, they are a depressed market in East Anglia: Northampton, 20s. 6d. Cam- bridge, 17s. 2d.; range, 3s. 4d. -Mark Lane Express.